Twins and cribs and toddler beds...HELP!

[AdventureMoms]

OK, so one of my twins (E) is now climbing out of the crib. Today he refused to stay there for nap and went and tried to wake the other twin (B). He's now playing in the living room, because I don't know what to do with him. B is trying to emulate and I'm sure will be climbing out shortly. E is a biter, and still occasionally pulls hair or pinches when he's mad. I'm worried about toddler beds because I'm worried about what he will do to B in there. He doesn't bite MUCH anymore, but still occasionally. I had hoped to move them to a mattress on the floor but again, it's the access to each other that has me worried.

 

Oh and E can also climb back IN to a crib, so B would not be safe even in his own crib.

 

And naturally this started at at the beginning of DW's outage, so she's working 12-16hr days, 6 or 7 days a week for the next month. I'm on my own for the evenings (I do have a sitter some days early in the day).

 

One of the cribs converts to a toddler bed. The other one doesn't, but I could borrow a toddler bed from a friend who has already offered. I have a full mattress that I could put on the floor easily.

 

Cosleeping is not even a remote possibility for E, he won't settle if he's in our bed (we've tried). B is not a very good cosleeper either, though he will do it SOMETIMES. If he's totally exhausted or sick.

 

To add a complication, we are travelling (flying to Seattle) in October, and I will need to find somewhere for them to sleep there. I planned to borrow a couple of pack-n-plays but he wouldn't stay in there, I'm sure...

 

So...wwyd? If you have twins, what did you do? I'm open to any suggestions at this point, we really do need to survive the next month somehow.

[Melinda in VT]

Does your 4yo sleep in a different room? I'd put the nonbiting twin in with her. :grouphug:

 

Can E get over or through baby gates? I'd rig one or two up in his room to keep him in during naptime.

[SKL]

I didn't have the biting problem, so I had no problem letting them both switch to tot cots in the same room. Sometimes they wanted to sleep together, and that was fine. (Now they share the bottom bunk of a bunkbed.)

 

I guess if one was an incurable biter, I'd move the non-biter/non-climber's crib out of the bedroom.

 

Another possibility is to get one of those cribs you can't climb out of, or a crib tent or whatever. But I've heard that crib tents are dangerous, so I probably would nto go that route.

[AdventureMoms]

4yo is a difficult sleeper. However she does not nap, so her room or mine could be possible naptime locations with some babyproofing. Space is an issue, her room is the size of a postage stamp. But B would probably stay in a pnp, so that might work (he's not such a spitfire as E).

 

So far, E has not climbed a babygate. He also has a hard time opening his door. So keeping him in his room is possible.

[LaxMom]

I'd put the mattresses on the floor, and revamp the way you normally settle them to accommodate the new freedom (which you will have to do anyway, since E can climb out). And probably put in some surveillance. (the Joyful Abode blog has an excellent solution for a video monitor.)

 

Toddlers are HARD. Just when you find your footing, they make a new developmental leap. Sigh.

Edited September 11, 2012 by MyCrazyHouse

[AdventureMoms]

I didn't have the biting problem, so I had no problem letting them both switch to tot cots in the same room. Sometimes they wanted to sleep together, and that was fine. (Now they share the bottom bunk of a bunkbed.)

 

I guess if one was an incurable biter, I'd move the non-biter/non-climber's crib out of the bedroom.

 

Another possibility is to get one of those cribs you can't climb out of, or a crib tent or whatever. But I've heard that crib tents are dangerous, so I probably would nto go that route.

 

Yeah, he's so close to being over the biting thing. I was really hoping he'd finish with that before starting with this... sleeping together or on the floor or whatever is fine by me as long as they sleep at some point and don't injure each other.

 

I feel the same way about the crib tents. Plus I know this kid too well and I worry he'll get hurt trying to get out. I'm 100% sure he'd be dangling from the crib tent within 5 minutes, so that's probably not safe either.

[AdventureMoms]

So the sitter rearranged the furniture a bit, and it seems harder for him to get out now. I'm hoping that will buy me a little time. They went down fine for bedtime tonight.

[melmichigan]

Twin A was like that. We put a crib tent over the crib. We always joked that Twin B never tried it because she didn't want the tent on her crib. :) The kinds that are just over the top are dangerous, but they make ones that attach all the way around and fit under the mattress, they are just more expensive.

 

ETA: sorry, I didn't see where you don't like that idea

Edited September 12, 2012 by melmichigan

[soonermomma]

I used crib tents!! My girl twin started climbing out of her crib at 16 months. The crib tents were a life saver. (we also used the ones that went around the mattress) When they turned three we bought them really nice matching wooden toddler beds and really cute bedding. I did at this point put a lock on the door knob to keep them in their room. Well, my boy twin figured out he was strong enough to move the beds, so he would turn them up to where they were standing on the headboard completely vertical and try to climb the slats like a ladder. :001_huh: So, they had their cute beds for maybe two weeks and since they have had their crib mattresses on the floor. There is literally nothing else in their bedroom other than the mattresses. Their dressers and all toys are in their closet, which they can't get in to. I know this all probably sounds extreme, but the minds of two three year olds are pretty extreme! I just could NOT have ever imagined the havoc they could wreak! Mine will be four in December and I'm hoping the 4's will be much more calm!

[hollyh]

Leave E in one room. Put the other one in a pack n play in your room, or another room of the house.

 

We had to separate our twins at times. Sometimes it was a surprise to realize that one of them could have easily slept much longer for naps or in the morning without them both together.

 

We would just separate for a month or so until they were over whatever phase they were in.

[craftyerin]

threads like this make me SO glad my twins were climbing in impaired! Neither of them tried to escape a crib, EVER.

[AdventureMoms]

I used crib tents!! My girl twin started climbing out of her crib at 16 months. The crib tents were a life saver. (we also used the ones that went around the mattress) When they turned three we bought them really nice matching wooden toddler beds and really cute bedding. I did at this point put a lock on the door knob to keep them in their room. Well, my boy twin figured out he was strong enough to move the beds, so he would turn them up to where they were standing on the headboard completely vertical and try to climb the slats like a ladder. :001_huh: So, they had their cute beds for maybe two weeks and since they have had their crib mattresses on the floor. There is literally nothing else in their bedroom other than the mattresses. Their dressers and all toys are in their closet, which they can't get in to. I know this all probably sounds extreme, but the minds of two three year olds are pretty extreme! I just could NOT have ever imagined the havoc they could wreak! Mine will be four in December and I'm hoping the 4's will be much more calm!

 

Um no, it does not sound extreme. It might have, before I had these crazy people, but not anymore!!! In the middle of reading your post I heard screams from the other room. One twin (E, of course) was standing on top of the storage ottoman. B was half inside of it and E was jumping on the lid trying to squish B inside. This stuff happens daily. Thanks for the warning about the beds though, they would TOTALLY do that.

 

OK, so, about the tents - are they really built to withstand what a crazy toddler can put out? I mean, those bars that hold it up - are they strong enough to hold a 35+lb kid hanging from them? Because E would hang from them, I have zero doubt. Are the ties strong enough to withstand a LOT of pulling, yanking, biting, scratching, etc? They just seem so flimsy when I see pics of them that I can't imagine how they would survive a night on E's bed. Also, what holds them under the mattress? How hard do they make it to change the sheets? Both boys leak out the diapers a few times a week, so I change sheets a lot, plus E tends to puke for no particular reason.

[Melinda in VT]

Um no, it does not sound extreme. It might have, before I had these crazy people, but not anymore!!! In the middle of reading your post I heard screams from the other room. One twin (E, of course) was standing on top of the storage ottoman. B was half inside of it and E was jumping on the lid trying to squish B inside. This stuff happens daily. Thanks for the warning about the beds though, they would TOTALLY do that.

 

:lol: Yep. DH found DS trying to seal DD into a rubbermaid container when they were toddlers. You know, the ones that have the picture of a todder in the container with the lid closing and a big red X through the picture? The picture you look at and think, "Duh! Who is stupid enough to need to be told that is a bad idea?" Um, yeah. :tongue_smilie:

[sbgrace]

I did use one of those crib tents that went under the mattress. My climber loved his tent though--I think it made him feel safe (he's spectrumy) so when we got the tent he was thrilled and never again even tried to get out. I do not think they would withstand hanging on them and the like. I'm also not sure what the danger is and if it applies to the sort that are all around. I would probably not use them in your case and instead try sleeping in a different room if the new arrangement doesn't work. I didn't check your sig to see how old they are but my climber/poor sleeper outgrew naps at about 18 months. Well, at least I never got him to take another nap (despite lots of trying) unless he was sick.

[AdventureMoms]

I did use one of those crib tents that went under the mattress. My climber loved his tent though--I think it made him feel safe (he's spectrumy) so when we got the tent he was thrilled and never again even tried to get out. I do not think they would withstand hanging on them and the like. I'm also not sure what the danger is and if it applies to the sort that are all around. I would probably not use them in your case and instead try sleeping in a different room if the new arrangement doesn't work. I didn't check your sig to see how old they are but my climber/poor sleeper outgrew naps at about 18 months. Well, at least I never got him to take another nap despite trying unless he was sick.

 

I just did a couple of searches and apparently the danger is of them becoming partially detached or inverting inside the crib and causing strangulation or suffocation hazards. That seems to pretty much confirm my fears. Rearranging rooms will be challenging - my room is where all the cr*p is so they don't get into it, so I'll need to find something to do with all that. Plus if I'm leaving E alone in there, I probably need to find somewhere else for the dressers (in the closet is not remotely an option, their closet is TINY). All three bedrooms in my house are quite small, and both boys are loud sleepers. DW and I have never had much luck with actually SLEEPING in the same room as either of them.

 

And I should update my sig, they are 22mo now. As far as naps, they REALLY need them still. It's 10am here and they're already yawning and rubbing eyes. They need at least 2 hours (and they sleep 12 hours at night).